Workers on variable hours contracts losing up to £470 a month – report

Alan Jones, Press Association Industrial Correspondent

Workers on variable hours contracts are losing an average of £230 a month because shifts are cancelled or changed at short notice, according to new research.

The Living Wage Foundation said a survey of 2,000 workers on variable hours contracts found they lose money on costs including transport and childcare if shifts are cancelled.

More than half of respondents said they have lost money through short notice shifts, cancelled shifts or wasted costs, losing £230 a month on average, rising to £470 among workers experiencing all three.

Three out of four of those surveyed said they have to make sacrifices to make ends meet, such as skipping meals, falling behind on bills or dipping into savings.

Living Wage Foundation said its study revealed that people working variable hours report getting shifts on short notice, which often means they have to turn work down and so lose out on pay.

Just over half of respondents said they get less than a week’s notice of shifts and one in 10 receive less than 24 hours’ notice.

Graham Griffiths, director of Living Wage Foundation, said: “Millions of workers are in stuck in jobs where they don’t know when they’ll be working or if they’ll get the hours and pay they need, trapping them in poverty and making it impossible to plan a life.

“Many are now struggling to put food on the table and keep up with bills.

“The Employment Rights Act is a step in the right direction in protecting workers who are all too often bearing the costs of these insecure jobs while employers benefit, but there remains a lot of uncertainty around how strong the Act’s provisions will be.

“There is a growing movement of over 300 responsible Living Hours employers who are choosing to transform millions of people’s lives right now whilst raising the bar for what decent work looks like in the UK by providing employees with the secure working hours they need to thrive.

“They know decent pay and secure work is good for workers, good for business and good for society.”

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